Mapping magnetic signals of individual magnetite grains to their internal magnetic configurations using micromagnetic models

Abstract

Paleomagnetic studies commonly try to extract from geological samples the primary characteristic remanent magnetization, acquired during rock formation (Butler, 1991). These studies put considerable effort in selecting rocks with a narrow magnetic grain size distribution. These are considered to have optimal recording properties, and are preferred because even careful stepwise demagnetization of bulk magnetic measurements cannot always reliably separate primary from secondary, or stable from unstable remanence carriers (Dunlop & Özdemir, 1997). The recording properties of larger grain sizes, for example, of those that dominate the magnetic signal of lavas, are often problematic and poorly understood. One way to minimize the influence of unwanted remanence carriers, pioneered by Tarduno et al.